Blog for Choice! Priorities for the New Administration

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

My morning commute ended at Union Station where I was greeted with throngs of teenage students from various dioceses (Miami was particularly well-represented), all wearing various iterations of March for Life T-shirts and backpacks.

I looked at the young women and thought about statistics. One in three, one in four of them will have an abortion during her lifetime. Yes, Virginia, Catholic women get abortions too.

Despite my staunch support of abortion rights, I’d like to see the new administration forge new ground in the tired, overplayed debate.

Marching orders for Obama:

1. If Congress passes the Freedom of Choice Act, sign it. It’ll be hugely controversial but I'd like to think it will also move the debate away from wash.rinse.repeat cycle of whether Roe was a poor decision, and whether or not X restriction is merely a burden (and therefore permissible) or an undue burden (and therefore not). 
2. Repeal the Hyde Amendment. A tall order if ever there was one -- and one that bumps against a Supreme Court case (Harris v. McRae, for you other nerds). But it is essential. And spare me the arguments against taxpayer-funded abortion. America is a plurality. Tax dollars fund all sorts of things that I find reprehensible. To that end, I exercise my right to the political franchise. Democracy kicks ass like that.
3. Stop funding abstinence-only education. It is laughably bad science and a gigantic study confirmed that we're throwing good money after bad.
4. Increases in Title V and Title X funding. Ensure that women – including poor, uninsured, and underinsured women – have access to reliable forms of contraception. Title X has been ridiculously underfunded for decades -- $280 some-odd million is just not enough.
5. If Congress passes the Pregnancy Support/Equity in Prescription Insurance Contraceptive Coverage/Reducing Unintended Pregnancy Act (HR 463/S 21), sign it.
6. Support mothering with dignity by supporting groups like the Rebecca Project for Human Rights.
7. Appoint someone with, I dunno, actual scientific credentials, to head the FDA. Think Joshua Sharfstein or Susan Wood.
8. Issue executive orders allowing monies to flow into the United Nations Population Fund and repeal the Global Gag Rule. If we value free speech, then we value it for all people, even when we disagree. And if you do disagree, there’s that handy political franchise again.
9. Get real about welfare reform. Want to reduce abortions? Then provide better benefits for women transitioning from welfare to work. Child care subsidies that are more than a pittance, bigger Pell grants, more technical and vocational spending for high-wage, high-skill jobs.

I’m sure there are others I’ve inadvertently forgotten. What would you recommend?

Comments

[jaelithe]

Other things that I believe will help reduce abortion, WITHOUT making it illegal:

Create universal public Pre-K, and make it available year-round-- this will give working mothers more and better childcare options AND help break the cycle of poverty by improving our nation's kids' chances at success later in life. All studies on public Pre-K show it more than pays for itself down the line by increasing worker productivity, so this won't even cost our society money long-term.

Fix the health care system so that pregnant women in this country NEVER, EVER have to worry that they will not be able to afford the health care costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy.

Create nation-wide, universal PAID maternity leave, so that even women who work at Starbucks or McDonalds will know that they can take time off to have a baby, not starve during their absence from work, and still have a job to go back to.

Increase the availability of safe, affordable housing that is appropriate for young families.

Support programs that empower women to escape abusive situations. Support programs that teach young women skills that will help them support themselves. Support programs that teach young men that children are a father's responsibility, too.

[Summer]

All great ideas! We need to do more than just blog about it though, we also need to let Obama know exactly what we want!

[Sara]

jaelithe stole mine...seeing paid maternity leave would be a dream come true for me! we had to do into debt for me to take maternity leave to have my son. at least they saved my job...

Along those lines, what about guaranteeing sick leave for moms so they can take care of themselves and their kids.

Can I just say I'm really excited about Michelle taking on the "Mom in Chief" roll so that maybe these things will actually happen?